I received a call from the lung specialist’s office Wednesday that he wanted a followup x-ray and appointment which was booked for the next day. I’d had a followup x-ray on July 11th and didn’t hear anything so I thought all was well. Needless to say, the call was a bit disconcerting because of course the nurse can’t tell you what is going on.

Well, the good news is, there isn’t a new problem which is what I was worried about. I know that I have some lung damage from having worked in a dusty pharmaceutical manufacturing environment. So, I was concerned something else was developing.

The fluid which had developed on my lung as the result of the infections hasn’t cleared away. While there is less than was there early in July, there is still a significant amount present. So, I’m being booked in for another draining. I also need to talk to the surgeon as there is apparently some residual infection still present. Just when I thought I was seeing the tail end of this mess.

Onward to today’s rambling

City Fork

I like when artists show shots from their process and add some commentary about what they are doing. @opheliafu has done a great job with her City Fork rendering. Nice work.

Basic communication is becoming a lost art - how to reclaim it

@raymondspeaks pens an essay about how we have become so immersed in our online lives that we often neglect basic communication between friends and acquaintances. We don’t pay attention to what is happening in their lives or share our own. Having stated the problem, he proceeds to provide some guidance how to regain basic communications.

the cohesiveness of Wild Birds #1

Birds do not suffer from the loss of family cohesiveness brought about by technology. Their lives together and raising their young pretty much continues on. @fahrullah is clearly not a native English speaker and what he writes is not the easiest to understand. What really drew me to this post is the beautiful photos of the bird family. That is worth the look.

I hope @fahrullah will work on his English and improve his communications.

The Moral Question of Using Unconditional Basic Income to Refuse Employment

@scottsantens writes an interesting post about Unconditional Basic Income and the morality of it. I’m not strongly leaning in either direction when it comes UBI. I think one of the biggest questions I’ve yet to see resolved is how will it be funded? I can see the benefits for the population but the implementation is where I have trouble getting my head around it.

Are You Suffering From ‘Decision Fatigue’?

You’d think that the information age would provide us with all the information we need to make sound, reasoned and informed decisions wouldn’t you? For many it seems to have the opposite effect, they are so busy with all that flow of information they are too tired to make good decisions. @kristinaljfom writes an outline of the problem.

Learn How To Learn

Learning is a skill, just as writing is a craft. In order to do both well, we need to learn how. During our school days we spent years learning subjects, we don’t have that time as adults. There are ways to learn how to learn effectively so that we can put that learning to good use in a short a time as possible. I’ve come across some of @terrybrock’s material before and as usual, find it very valuable to spend the time on.

Adding "Value:" How Your Actions and Contributions Today... Represent the Steemit of Tomorrow

@denmarkguy is one of the thinkers on the platform that I have come to appreciate. Many of the controversies going on right now are indeed the result of the short term thinkers who want return now or who resent others getting more return than them. We really do need to focus on adding value to the platform even if that value gets a small amount now, as the platform grows so will the added value.

Like many who have been on the platform for a year, we posted and often saw very small rewards worth very little through the months where STEEM was on a roll if it got above 30cents each. But, we kept posting. This past month, that investment those many months ago paid off for me when I was able to power down and in a week withdraw enough to help cover some expenses when I was ill.

Don’t shoot for immediate return, build for later. I continue to post and rebuild both what I withdrew and to add more. If you need immediate short term return, don’t game the platform, go get a job.

How Important it is to Talk Nicely to Yourself and Focus on the Moment

We can be effected by how other people treat us and talk about us. That is very true BUT the reason they can have an effect is that we take the behaviour and internalize it as part of our own self-talk and how we perceive ourself. @sharoonyasir talks about the importance of having a healthy, positive focus on ourself as a person.

It doesn’t mean we have to or should ignore what needs work on but celebrate what is good first and then gently and firmly focus on how to make desired changes. If all you do is look at imperfections, you’ll never see the diamonds.

Okanagan 2017 Plein-air painting with Pocahontas. Art/Camping/Chilling in 21 Photos

@seablue brought my attention to @jankasparec with his bitcoin jesus painting. Then I looked at his profile and found this post about his trip into the interior of BC. Beautiful pics and great commentary.

Wrap-up on Day 108

It takes some time to find them but there are jewels on the platform. Posts that make you laugh, cry, think or just rage. Those who write them, need to keep plugging away and hope that the people trying to spam the platform with fluff and nonsense will give up and go away.

Still Pending Posts

I hope you enjoyed reading my post. Below are the posts still pending payout as of the time of the writing. I invite you to visit the posts and upvote them if you like them:

August 2 -- Steemit Ramble #107 -- Curating Great Posts for You? — payout August 10
Cramahe's Canada 150 Party (Part 1 of 3) -- Citizenship Ceremony — payout August 13

Cramahe's Canada 150 Party (Part 2 of 3) -- Opening Ceremony (including @shadowspub's award) — payout August 14

Supporting and Upvoting

Let’s not forget folks. I’m sharing these posts not only because I like them. I’d really like to see them get support and upvoting.

Please Join the Curation Trail

If you’d like to support the posts I find and upvote while searching for the Ramble shares, please join my Curation Trail on Streemian

Until Tomorrow — Just Steem on

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